Rock Solid
by Lauzier
Summary: Ezio pays a visit to Sofia at the library because books are romantic. Yeah.


A small, transparent tear finally found his way through Ezio's eye corner to the desk in which the book he had been reading a while ago lied, completely still.

His heart wasn't rock solid, after all.

Of all the things that he had denied, of all the things that he had given up in benefit of a greater purpose -knowdlege, invaluable knowdlege- this was the most painfull of all. Even if he didn't want to admit it, Ezio actually felt a considerable amount of pain each time he rememberd Cristina. Because, for once, he had felt true love for a woman. It had not been merely bland, carnal attraction, it had been something much stronger. He had actually felt that a bond between himself and Cristina had been created... a strong, lasting bond, that he couldn't seem to free from.

Did he want to do it, anyway?

Letting go what had existed between Cristina and him was evidently something that was easier said than done. But why was this? Wasn't the seek for rescuing the entire mankind from the evil, forever-power-hungry members of the Order of the Temple enough to give purpose to his life? Wasn't the eternal struggle for fulfilling such a great task enough to distract him from any other thing that a common man could ever wish during his life? In addition, he was not a common man. He couldn't allow himself to be tempted by the desire of being one. He had chosen this life, he had chosen to be something completely different from a common man... an assassin.

As an assassin, he couldn't allow himself to let his life be guided by anything else than the creed. His foremost objective was to unveil the conspirancy that the Templars represented, tu put an end to their wrongful attemps at obtaining large quantities of power that would be only used for even more wrongful and selfish purposes... but did him really want to go on with what seemed an never-ending battle? Was it worth it to keep going? Who would continue with his fight after he was done in this world? Would the followers of the creed give up?

Was it worth it to dedicate his life entirely to others?

And there was this venetian woman, Sofia, who seemed to blandish his will even more than the recurrent memories of Cristina. Sofia represented, too, something different from what he had always seen in women. Her beauty didn't reside mainly on her appearance but on her mere self. Her kindness and always awake eagerness for learning had arousen in Ezio a desire he had never felt before. Something way different from what he had felt for Cristina, during his youth; his current age gave his feelings for Sofia a more protective fashion. His main wish was not to stand with her against every danger they might encounter but to protect her, instead.

The sole thought of her being in danger was worrying him. And worrying him way more than he could allow.

He could not allow such a great desire to stand up and go to see her inmediately, ethier.

He looked through the window. The day was still clear. He could see some people walking on the street, they were minding their own business, maybe focused on getting their chores done.

Sofia would certainly be working on her library. She would be examining a map, reading that Allighieri's book she had talked to him about the last time they had met.

It had not been a long time since then. Only three days. But what was a long time? Three days seemed to be way more of what he could bear during that precise moment.

It wouldn't hurt to make a little visit to her, after all.

Ezio stood up from the chair he was sitting on. He stretched a bit and went out of the room, walking quite fast. He felt excited for what he was about to do, even if it was only having a short, casual conversation with Sofia. He felt excited every time he met her.

He now could observe that, even though the day was still clear, the sun was gradually setting. He wondered if he would make it to the library before it had completely gotten dark. He quickly drew his attention to something else- he didn't feel confident enough, and worries like those would certainly make him back off.

How long had it been since he had made such a stupid choice? Months? Years, maybe? His constant pursuit for defeating the corruptive purposes of the Order of the Temple had completely drawn him away from even having the slightest chance of making, in the eyes of his brothers, decisions as absurd and irrelevant as this one. Maybe that added to the incitation he was feeling, the possibility of feeling like common man again. The possibility of feeling like a _real_ man.

Lost in his thoughts, Ezio arrived to the library door. He knocked it, hoping to hear Sofia's always sweet and welcoming 'come in'. She responded as he had thought, so he opened the door.

Sofia was sitting on her desk, thoughtfully looking at a huge map. The library was dimly lit by some candles that were resting on the table and some light that filtered through a small window placed in the top corner of the right wall; Ezio noticed it was finally getting dark. It seemed to be messier than other times. There were books scattered around the room and piling in the corners. The different colors of the covers gave the place a cozy look. It seemed as if Sofia had been looking for a particular piece and couldn't find it.

-Sorry about the mess; it has been a very busy day- she quickly apologized, percieving how Ezio looked slowly around the room.

-Don't worry, it is fine. In fact, it looks rather welcoming- Ezio answered. Her voice had sounded troubled about the library being messy. -May I help you with something?

-Oh, no, please, don't bother.

-It wouldn't be a bother at all.

-Well... If you really don't mind, could you pass me that book over there?- She pointed at a boom with a red leather cover that was quietly reposing on the top of a pile in a dark corner of the room. He could hardly see it, and wondered how she managed to read, the room was really dark.

He slowly walked to the pile, grabbed the book -which was heavier of what he had thought- and went to stand by Sofia's side. She turned to see him, but quickly looked down and took the book. Their hands touched gently, thought it felt as something much more intense than a sweet, casual touch.

Ezio observed her as she slowly turned the pages of the book he had just handed to her until she found what she was looking for. She scanned through the page, marking the lines she quickly read with her finger. When she had finished the page, she closed the book and put it on a side of the desk. She continued inspecting the map. He didn't know why was this, maybe because of how the candles lit her face or the expression she put while she worked with the documents, or maybe the dark-blue dress she was wearing, but he found her to be looking astonishingly beautiful that night. Her hair, wavy, was held precariously by her shoulder and looked as if it wer about to slip to the side of her face. Her lips looked full and red, and more tempting that they had ever done. He just couldn't stop looking at her, and felt the wish of sliding his hand through her back to her other shoulder.

Sofia stood up, suddenly. She found herself at a very little distance from Ezio. He was a lot taller than her, and she liked it. Even though they both realized how close they were, they didn't move.

Ezio put his hands on Sofia's waistline and looked straight at her eyes. They were brighter than ever.

He realized that he loved her, he loved her like he had not ever loved any other woman.

-You look beautiful tonight- he said.

Her hands went up to his neck and grabbed him.

And they kissed, they kissed as if they had never kissed anyone before.


End file.
